Researcher, historian and author Chendamangalam Mathothiparhambil Parameswaran Thankappan Nair (91) passed away on June 18, 2024 at his home in Kochi, Kerala. He had spent more than 60 years in Kolkata researching the history of the city and penning 63 books. P T Nair spent more than 40 years staying in a two room rented flat at Kansaripara Road, Bhawanipur writing his books in English. He was not fluent with the state language Bengali. Thankappan Nair arrived in Culcutta when he was 22 and after several trials in various jobs, he opted for a job of typist in a private company. He retired from Asiatic Society as Senior Research Professor. He fell in love with the city and its people and started digging into history. His meticulous documentation earned him the title of ‘barefoot historian.’ Whenever Governors of West Bengal wanted to peep into history of Bengal, they sought information from Thankappan Nair.

Nair is survived by his wife Sitadevi (Retd teacher), son Manoj Nair( (school teacher) and daughter Maya Nair. Son in law Ravikumar (Ex employee of Container Corporation of India) and daughter in law Seema V Nair (Teacher, Govt High School, Kodungalloor)